As the Graham Platner cluster-flop reverberates through the Pine Tree State, Will Rogers’ famed prophecy came true, again. He said: “I don't belong to an organized political party; I'm a Democrat.”

On June 7, about 157,000 Democratic voters chose a Senate candidate, an oyster farmer from Sullivan, over sitting Gov. Janet Mills, who polled 42,000. A month later, they threw him under the bus after credible sexual assault accusations rang true. Some faulted him for a Nazi death’s-head tattoo he got years ago. But I discount that as stupid kid stuff, but the sex stuff was different.

What happened in the first place? Was it because smart-aleck political consultants from out of state convinced him to jump into the deep end without proper vetting? Who knows? How and why it happened doesn’t matter today.

Now, the Democrats have two weeks to figure out how to make lemonade out of lemons if they want any chance to upset an eight-hundred-pound gorilla, four-time incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Over the weekend, the party struggled to put together a mini convention of some 600 followers to pick his replacement in two weeks. How are they going to do it and keep the party together? Did someone mention herding cats?

So far, most are looking at the candidates who lost the party’s ranked-choice gubernatorial primary. They are Dr. Nirav Shah, who came in second, State Senate President Troy Jackson, who came in third, and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who ranked fourth. Aren’t these the leftover candidates? The second, third and fourth stringers?

Demos hope a victory might tip the balance of the U.S. Senate, but can you beat the other team’s varsity with second-, third-, or fourth-stringers?

Social media posters immediately put forth the name of Maine’s favorite movie star, Patrick Dempsey, who quickly said: No thanks. Others suggest Heather Cox Richardson, a widely popular online pundit/history professor who lives up the coast.

I checked with my favorite political pundit, M. Pigette, who usually has a handle on the state’s political pulse as she holds up a mailbox on Route 27, the main road from Boothbay to Wiscasset.

Here is her take. “Well, old man, why did 156,084 Democrats pick Platner in the first place?” she asked. “Was it because of his proven record as a member of the town planning board or his work as the harbor master? Naaah. Was it because he is a working guy, has a war record, and is a good-looking dude with a Sam Elliott-style mustache? Maybe. Was it because of his carefully crafted, thoughtful academic political message pointing to the far left? Bernie Sanders thought so. I’m not sure.

Or was it because he was a terrific public speaker who appeared in 50 town halls insulting the political status quo and the President while gathering cheers and applause because he looked and talked like a fighter? Was it because we live in a time when our political leaders want us to believe what we know is wrong, that up is down, and that common sense makes no sense at all? 

We are the oldest state in the union. Look at the town hall crowds who came out for Platner. I’ll bet they were filled with lots of grey-haired folks and independents who always vote. These were folks, unlike VP J. D. Vance, who remember the time when a president ignored the law and sent burglars into a Watergate office, an act that foretold the end of his presidency. They remember when our political leaders started the Vietnam War that tore our nation apart. They remember brave civil rights marchers and a time when ordinary working stiffs could afford a home, a car and, maybe, if they watched their nickels, they might vacation on a little lake and find a trout or two. They praise neighbors who tell the truth and practiced the lessons from the Good Book. They hate the White House version of the Golden Rule: “Dem that has the Gold has the rules.”

These folks provided the backbone of the hugely successful protests like “No Kings” and “Indivisible.” They came out in the rain and cold to express their First Amendment feelings.

Do you think they will stay home on Election Day? Not likely. They will come out to vote for candidates, not because they are right or left, hold a progressive or moderate position, but because they are seriously honked off at the folks on both sides who work in the White House and Congress.

If Maine Democrats want a fighter to go after the White House and Susan Collins, do they really want to pick a candidate who just came in second/third/fourth in the last election?

Or can they find a candidate who can throw a punch and take one, too?